[117.05] Nearby Red Dwarfs are Sexy for Planets and Life

T.J. Henry, W.-C. Jao, J.P. Subasavage (Georgia State), RECONS Team

The RECONS group continues to discover many nearby red
dwarfs in the southern sky through a combination of proper
motion surveys, literature review, and ultimately, our
parallax program CTIOPI. Already, we have measured the first
accurate parallaxes for 11 of the nearest 100 stellar
systems, including four within 5 parsecs of the Sun.

These nearby red dwarfs are prime candidates for NASA's
Space Interferometry Mission (SIM) because the astrometric
perturbations are largest for planets orbiting stars of low
mass that are nearby. In addition, new multiple red dwarf
systems can be targeted for mass determinations, thereby
providing points on a comprehensive mass-luminosity relation
for the most populous members of the Galaxy.

Recent atmospheric modeling of planets orbiting red dwarfs
indicates that even if the planets are tidally locked, heat
distribution is highly effective in keeping the worlds balmy
over the entire surface. Red dwarfs are therefore "back on
the table" as viable hosts of life-bearing planets. Given
their ubiquity, red dwarfs are being seriously considered as
prime SETI targets, and will allow us to answer not only the
question "Are We Alone?" but "Just How Alone Are We?"

This work has been supported by the National Science
Foundation, NASA's Space Interferometry Mission, and Georgia
State University.

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